Demonstration of a 3 × 4 tunable bandwidth WSS with tunable attenuation using compact spatial light paths

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Telecommunications Technology
• Photonics

Background:

• Wavelength selective switches (WSS) are crucial for managing wavelength conflicts in optical switching nodes.
• Existing WSS designs face challenges in performance and scalability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and experimentally demonstrate a performance-enhanced 3x4 tunable bandwidth WSS (TBWSS).
• To achieve tunable attenuation across the C-band with improved insertion loss (IL) and a compact spatial light path design.
• To showcase the scalability of the proposed design for future optical networks.

Main Methods:

• Design and fabrication of a 3x4 TBWSS utilizing compact spatial light paths.
• Experimental characterization of IL, attenuation tuning range, and port switching capabilities.
• Evaluation of scalability for increased port counts.

Main Results:

• The demonstrated TBWSS achieved an insertion loss between 8.4 dB and 12.5 dB.
• An attenuation tuning range of up to 35 dB was realized.
• Over 2 dB improvement in IL was observed compared to previous WSS demonstrations.
• The compact spatial light path architecture facilitates easy extension to 10 input and 20 output ports.

Conclusions:

• The developed TBWSS offers significant performance enhancements, particularly in insertion loss.
• The compact and scalable design addresses limitations of current WSS technology.
• This advancement is pivotal for efficient wavelength management and expansion in optical networks.